Chagas disease transmission by consumption of game meat: systematic review

Abstract

Objective:: To evaluate the influence of game meat consumption in Chagas disease (CD) transmission, the conditions under which it occurs and the frequency of reports in the literature.

Methods:: Through systematic review, databases PubMed, LILACS, MEDLINE, and SciELO were consulted, and articles written in Portuguese, English, and Spanish were included, with no limitation over publication date. We used the following descriptors: oral, transmission, meat, wild animals, hunt, carnivory, and Chagas disease. Articles that mentioned consumption of animal meat as a form of human transmission of CD were included. We used epidemiological, clinical, and laboratory evidence criteria to confirm cases.

Results:: Among the 298 articles identified, only six met the eligibility criteria. Only five episodes of oral transmission through wild animal meat or blood consumption were identified. However, in two of them, the possibility of vectorial transmission could not be ruled out. Most reports met the epidemiological, clinical, and laboratory evidence criteria established to support the transmission.

Conclusion:: Though CD transmission is uncommon, hunting and consumption of wild mammals that serve as Trypanosoma cruzi reservoirs should be discouraged in endemic countries in light of the risks inherent to these practices.